


A Birthday with Scarlet

by MoonlightMav



Series: The Scarlet Series [2]
Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, French Kissing, Jealousy, Kissing, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightMav/pseuds/MoonlightMav
Summary: It’s Azul’s birthday party at Octavinelle and the twins have invited a guest that he was not prepared to meet.
Relationships: Azul Ashengrotto/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Scarlet Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193708
Kudos: 6





	A Birthday with Scarlet

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count: 2,955
> 
> Includes: angst, fluff, kissing
> 
> This is the sequel to "A Rival in Scarlet", I wrote it months ago for Azul and my OC, Scarlet Coldfire; though it’s not necessary to read that part 1 in order to understand this sequel.
> 
> Thanks to @patchyegg87 (on Tumblr) for helping me come up with the concept and providing the pictures.

“Karaage, Azul?” 

“What?” Azul distractedly looked up at Jade holding a tray of Karaage fried chicken.

“No one should look that glum on their birthday,” Jade replied. “I had hoped your favorite food might lift your forlorn spirit.” 

“I’m not forlorn,” Azul scoffed and took a sip of his tea.

“Yeah, Jade,” Floyd interjected from his seat on the couch behind Azul. “He’s not _forlorn_ ,” he pointed lazily to where Azul was glowering over his teacup, “he’s jealous.” 

“Excuse me?” Azul turned to Floyd so fast that some tea spilled on the table. 

“Ah,” Jade set the tray down and looked to where Floyd had pointed. A lady in an elegant red dress was conversing merrily with Cater at one of the tables. “Miss Coldfire does look ravishing tonight, doesn’t she?” 

“Definitely,” Floyd agreed. “You can’t blame Cater.”

Cater moved closer to Scarlet Coldfire and held up his phone. Their shoulders were pressed together as they smiled for a photo. 

“Why did you invite her?” Azul scowled and turned to look at the twins. 

“I thought you would have liked to see her,” Jade replied. “You had a lovely time together when she first came here.” 

Floyd nodded, “Exactly. You guys were totally making out in the VIP area—”

“Be quiet!” Azul hissed and looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. He took his cup and drank all the remaining tea in a single gulp. “I’m getting another drink,” he got up and walked to the bar. 

The twins were right; he did have a wonderful time with Scarlet when she visited during their Open House event. With her being the owner of a rival café, Azul had wanted to lure her into giving him information to his advantage. But Azul found her much more interesting than any information he could have gained about Crimson Café. 

They had walked around campus and found a quiet spot on a bench beneath a tree. Scarlet was as clever as she was beautiful, and Azul found himself immensely enjoying their conversations. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so relaxed. 

Before she left, Azul had said he would be calling her. They had exchanged numbers, after all. 

But each time he picked up the phone, he got nervous and unsure of what he wanted to say. What if she was busy running her café? He understood what it was like to manage such a popular establishment. What if he asked her to meet again and she said no? What if she hadn’t enjoyed his company as much as he had hoped?

A month passed and Azul kept finding questions and excuses not to call. 

And now she was here. 

When he saw her at that table, it felt like he had stopped breathing for a moment. He was not prepared at all to see her and while he was wondering whether he should approach her already, Cater appeared out of nowhere and started chatting her up like an old friend. 

Azul sat at the bar and randomly chose one of the prepared drinks on display. He lifted the glass to his lips and stopped halfway when he noticed what he had picked up. _Vermouth._ The drink Scarlet ordered at Mostro Lounge all those weeks ago. 

“Oh hey, Azul!” Cater appeared next to him and clinked his glass against his. “Happy birthday!”

“You’re here,” Azul said in mild surprise. He looked over to the table where Cater had been talking to Scarlet, it was now Rook who was sitting beside her and engaging in conversation. Azul wondered if the entire campus would work up the courage to talk to her before he did. 

“Yeah, she mentioned you,” Cater noticed where he was looking. 

“What?” Somehow Azul was curious and afraid at the same time, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Scarlet had to say about him. 

“I recognized her from MagiCam and asked what she was doing here. She said you guys met last month and Jade and Floyd invited her to your party. Have you talked to her yet?” 

“Not tonight, no.” _Not on any of the past several nights either._ “You, on the other hand, seemed like you were having a grand old time talking to her.” Azul tried to keep the edge off his voice. 

“I was!” Cater said cheerfully. “She even agreed for us to take a selfie so I can post it on MagiCam.” 

“That’s why you wanted a picture with her? To post on your social media?” Azul didn’t know if that was better than if he wanted to keep it for himself. 

“Yeah, and she’s really pretty,” Cater grinned. 

“Why did you stop talking to her, then?” Azul took a sip of the vermouth but barely tasted it. 

“Oh, Rook showed up and they started speaking in French. I had no idea what was going on so I just got up to get another drink.” 

Azul remembered how Rook had spoken French with Scarlet last time too, how he made her laugh with his smooth words that Azul couldn’t understand. 

“Well I’m glad they’re having fun at my party,” he glanced at their table again and saw to his horror that Jade and Floyd were there, too. Floyd was whispering something to Scarlet and then he pointed at Azul. Scarlet looked at him in surprise. 

He stood up and quickly walked to them, forgetting about his drink on the bar. Who knew what the twins had been saying about him. He had to come up with an excuse to get them away from her, perhaps some minor emergency about Mostro Lounge. 

_“Monsieur !”_ Rook greeted him when he reached their table. “We are honored with your presence on this special night.”

“Jade, Floyd,” Azul wasted no time, “you’re needed in the kitchen,” he blurted out.

Floyd frowned at him, “What? Why?”

“We were just getting acquainted with Miss Coldfire,” Jade explained. “Certainly the other residents can handle the kitchen.” 

“Yeah,” Floyd turned back to Scarlet. “Anyway as I was saying, when we were in elementary school, Azul—”

“Now,” Azul wanted to yank Floyd backwards by the collar. “Make sure everything is running smoothly.”

Floyd rolled his eyes. “Fine. Catch you later, Scarlet.” He stood up and walked away. 

Jade held out his hand to Scarlet, “It was enchanting to have spoken with you tonight, Miss Coldfire,” he planted a kiss on the back of her hand and left to follow Floyd.

Rook looked across the room. “Ah, I think I see Vil and Epel over there. I shall go and join them. Happy birthday once again, _Monsieur_ ,” he tipped his hat. “And _mademoiselle_ , remember,” he turned to Scarlet, _“la mer est parfois froide mais elle est toujours belle.”_

Scarlet smiled, _“Je suis d’accord.”_

Only when Rook was walking away did Azul realize he had been lured into a trap; the twins knew that if he saw them with Scarlet, he would immediately come over. They had most likely told Rook to leave too.

Azul looked at Scarlet, as nervous as he felt, he was relieved that he finally got the chance to talk to her. “May I join you?” 

“It’s your party,” she pointed out with a slight smile. 

He sat down next to her. “My apologies for not speaking with you sooner.” 

“That’s alright, you can’t be expected to speak with every one of your guests.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he clarified. “I’m sorry for not calling when I said I would,” he adjusted his glasses and averted his eyes. 

Scarlet didn’t say anything so he looked back at her, worried about what he might see. 

“I appreciate the apology,” she was smiling at him with a curious glint in her eye. “Though I must admit I didn’t expect it. You’re more chivalrous than I thought, Mr. Ashengrotto.”

Azul blinked and noticed a fluttering feeling in his stomach. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that, either.” 

“Floyd explained why you weren’t able to call,” Scarlet picked up her strawberry daiquiri, “I didn’t ask, but he explained all the same.” She took a sip of the drink.

 _Oh no._ The thought of Floyd explaining anything to anyone was already troubling, but it was especially worrying in this case. “What did he say?”

Scarlet looked amused, “No need to be so panicked. He just said he saw you fidgeting with your phone a few times but never actually dialing.”

“Floyd,” Azul cursed under his breath, he had no idea Floyd had seen his nervous attempts at a call. 

“He seemed to be under the impression that you were shy,” Scarlet tilted her head slightly. “He even pointed you out to me earlier and said you were jealous of Mr. Diamond.” 

Azul’s blood rushed to his cheeks. He was already coming up with various punishments for Floyd later. “I said no such thing.”

A soft laugh escaped her lips. “You look absolutely adorable when you blush, I should have told you that last time.”

Azul cleared his throat and willed himself to focus. He still wanted to know what exactly the twins had done. “What about Jade? I refuse to believe he just stayed silent the entire time.”

“Oh, it was all Jade’s idea. He texted Cater to go to you at the bar so you’d look back at this table and see me talking with Rook. Then he and Floyd approached us and said you would certainly come over if you thought they were ruining your reputation.” She looked at him intently, gauging his reaction. 

Azul furrowed his brows, “Why are you explaining all this?” He wondered aloud.

“Why wouldn’t I?” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Besides, I don’t want you to worry about what Jade and Floyd might have done. You shouldn’t be so stressed on your birthday.”

Azul shook his head lightly. He should have known that the moment he left the twins, they would be up to their antics again. “Why would those two go to all that trouble…”

“Jade said he wanted to help you, Floyd said it was funny,” Scarlet smiled in amusement and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I see that Floyd is as kind as ever. How did they rope Rook into this?” 

“Oh, Rook wanted to help me,” she said simply. 

Azul wasn’t sure what to make of that; the music and all the people around them were distracting him. He felt paranoid that Rook or the twins might be watching them, and he wanted to be able to talk to Scarlet in private.

He had an idea. “Would you mind going out to the corridor with me? There’s something I’d like to show you.” 

Scarlet raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows in interest. “I’d be glad to join you.” 

They quietly left the party and walked along the blue and purple halls of Octavinelle until they reached a section where an entire wall was a glass window.

The lights from the corridor illuminated the sea outside; various coral reefs grew in a myriad of colors and a school of fish was swimming by. Azul grew up under the sea and this was nothing new to him, but he still always appreciated the view.

“It’s beautiful,” Scarlet breathed. 

Azul looked at her eyes bright with wonder and her slightly parted lips. He wondered to himself how he was able to withstand not seeing her for weeks. 

“Yeah,” Azul said, unable to take his eyes off her, “beautiful.”

“It’s incredibly marvelous,” Scarlet turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Azul smiled back and looked out the window. “Floyd was right.” 

“About what?” Scarlet asked. 

“I was jealous of you and Cater,” he didn’t like at all how that sounded so he quickly added, “which is completely idiotic considering I have no right to be.” He hesitantly looked back at Scarlet. 

She looked surprised at his sudden confession and thought for a moment before speaking. “Rook talked to me earlier, as you had seen. He recognized me and asked why I wasn’t getting up to talk to you instead of just stealing glances from across the room.” 

Azul’s lips parted but no sound came out. He didn’t know what to say, knowing that Scarlet had been looking at him too almost made him feel lightheaded.

Scarlet smiled. “I told him I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk, because you didn’t call me after you said you would. I was wondering if you had changed your mind.” 

Azul shifted uncomfortably. “I meant what I said earlier; I’m sorry that I didn’t call you when I had every chance to. I was just… well, nervous. And then it only got more difficult to dial your number as the days went by because I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to talk to me when it’s been so long.” He wasn’t used to expressing such sentiments, but it felt right to be honest with Scarlet. He didn’t want to hide anything from her.

She stepped closer to him and caressed his cheek, _“The sea is sometimes cold but it is always beautiful.”_ She ran her thumb lightly over the beauty mark under his lip. “That’s what Rook said earlier before he left. I told him I agree.” Scarlet put down her hand and Azul immediately missed its warmth on his face. 

He realized what she meant and felt a stab of guilt. “I didn’t mean to seem cold.” 

Scarlet nodded in understanding. “That’s what Rook said too, he was telling me that I should still try to speak to you even if I’m not sure that it’s what you want. He said you might just be nervous.” Her hair had come loose from behind her ear and Azul fought the temptation to brush it back. 

“Rook Hunt does like to dabble in things related to romance and love,” he said without thinking. Then his eyes widened and he blushed furiously when he realized exactly what he had just said. “That’s not what I—I just meant...” he had no idea how to explain himself; he didn’t want to seem like he was confessing his love so soon and scare her away. 

Scarlet laughed pleasantly. “Calm down, _mon chéri_. As much as I love seeing you blush, I would much rather that you be relaxed and comfortable around me.”

Azul had learned a few French words while he had been procrastinating calling her, and he wanted to make sure he heard her correctly, “Did—Did you just call me ‘my dear’?” 

“I did,” Scarlet gazed into his eyes. “Don’t you like it?”

“I do,” Azul replied, inwardly cringing at how enthusiastic he sounded. “I like it,” he felt himself blushing again. This terribly honest side of his was going to take some getting used to. 

She beamed. “See, isn’t that better? We’re asking each other about the things we’re unsure of, rather than being too nervous to talk at all.” 

“Agreed,” he moved closer to her. “I, for one, do regret not having spent time with you for the past month.” It was true and he wanted to make up for it. 

“And I don’t regret coming to this party at all,” she stepped even closer. 

Their faces were so close now that their noses were almost touching. Azul swallowed. “Can I ask you something now?” He spoke softly. 

“Of course,” she murmured back. Feeling her breath on his lips made his heart start drumming in his chest. 

He delicately put his arms around her waist. “Would you like to go on a date with me? Perhaps on Saturday?” 

“I would be delighted,” she smiled and slowly reached up to take off Azul’s glasses, making his breath shake in anticipation. 

Azul barely noticed that she put it in the pocket on the side of her dress as he leaned in towards her.

She put her arms around his neck and leaned in to meet him, gently pressing her lips to his.

Azul sighed as his eyes fell close; Scarlet’s lips felt even softer than he remembered. At that moment, he was floating and nothing else mattered. 

After weeks and weeks of longing for her, being so close now was like a soothing balm to his heart. The familiar scent of her perfume filled his senses, settling deep within him and unfurling into a desire to pull her closer.

Her tongue grazed across his lips and before he knew it, he had moved and pressed her back against the glass window, his own tongue diving deep into her mouth.

He could hear the crinkling of his birthday sash and ribbon from the way they were moving against each other, and his once perfectly-pressed suit must be wrinkled by now, but he didn’t care; the feeling of Scarlet’s hands on his collar and face and hair overwhelmed any other thought in his mind. 

Soon enough they were both gasping for breath with their arms wrapped around each other. Azul slowly opened his eyes. 

The majestic view of the sea was just in front of him, but all he could see was Scarlet. Somehow he still couldn’t believe that he was with her now. 

He felt elated that there were no more uncertainties between them and they were actually going to go on a proper date. As he gazed into her warm brown eyes and she gazed back, he reveled in the feeling of their embrace and knew it was the best gift that he could have possibly received. 

“The sea might be beautiful,” Azul said softly as he stared at Scarlet and felt each beat of his heart, “but not nearly as much as you.” 


End file.
